Nav Social Menu

Hello, my name is Kathryn and I am so glad you’re here! I am a military spouse and mother to two special needs kids. My hope is to encourage you to sing through whatever life brings your way! Read more here →

How I Lost 25 Pounds

Note: I may earn money or products from the companies, products, or links mentioned in this post.

A lot of people have told me in the past months how good I look as far as the weight I have lost. I never considered myself huge or obese or even fat, I just considered myself to weigh more than I wanted and more than I should for a person of my height and body type. The cool thing is now that I have lost the extra weight I feel so good about myself. It makes a difference in how I feel every day, how much energy I have, and my general health.

I never liked having the extra weight, but I wasn’t that motivated to do anything about it. I would work out occasionally with a friend here or there, but if they couldn’t do it then I didn’t go. It wasn’t until I found out that I had a Hiatal Hernia, that I decided to be really serious about this. My doctor had restricted me from a lot of different foods so I could get better and I lost some weight just by staying away from those foods.

I also realized that if I wanted to get better I was going to have to do something about it on my own. So I started exercising. I lost about 13 pounds. Once my husband deployed I was determined to lose more weight and get down to my goal weight of 120 lbs. IDeployment can really be a great motivator! Here are some things I did to lose weight, exercise and stay healthy. I hope they help you in your journey as well.

1. How bad do you want it?
This is crucial to your losing weight. You have to want it more than anything else. If you say you want it, but deep down inside aren’t willing to work for it, then you don’t want it enough. If you say you can’t give up certain foods because you just “need” them, then you are not ready. You have to WANT this.

2. Smaller portions are more important than actual dieting.
Because of my hernia I had to have certain diet restrictions and life changes. Most of the foods I was allowed to eat were more bland, but I also was supposed to eat smaller portions and 3-5 meals a day instead of just 3. Eating less food, but eating more meals helps you regulate your food intake, and stay full longer.

I noticed a huge difference when I started watching my calorie intake and watching food labels to see what the actual portion size was. I tried to stick to no more than the recommended portion size for most things. I was shocked at the serving sizes for some foods. For instance: did you know that one serving of Ritz crackers is only 5 crackers? And that a serving of peanut butter is usually about 1-2 Tbls? It’s pretty small when you think about it and I realized I had been eating way more than I ever needed.

Once I started to watch my portion sizes on a regular basis I noticed that I didn’t need larger portions anymore. I could eat half a sandwich instead of a whole sandwich and it made me full.

3. Foods to give up and foods to include.
If you do decide to give up a few foods here are few that helped me and a few I added on as well:

Avoid:

Soda, Juice, and even milk for a short time. All I drank was water and I tried to drink 6-8 glasses every day. (Set a small goal, try drinking 4 glasses of water every day. Once you have that as a habit up it to 5 glasses, then 6. It’s a lot easier when you do it that way instead of one day trying to drink all 8.)

Pizza (frozen and restaurant style).

Fried foods.

Caffeine (Including coffee, soda, and chocolate. Yup I said chocolate. People would ask me how all the time how can you give those up? I didn’t have a choice. They were on my list of things I couldn’t eat because of my hernia. But it’s funny how you give those things up and you realize how much you don’t need them. Need energy? Drink water. Need something sweet? Eat some fruit).

Pasta (this one I think is debatable. I had to give it up because I couldn’t have tomato sauce, and I didn’t care for the store-bought Alfredo sauces. Pasta has a lot of carbs so I think in the long run it helped.)

Eating out (If you do eat out, order a salad, or only eat half and take the other half home for another meal).

Include:

More vegetables.

More fruits.

Less processed foods.

Again, it’s all about the portions than actual dieting. Eat a cookie, or a small slice of cake, just don’t eat 5 cookies. One cookie won’t hurt if you are drinking your water, watching your portion sizes, and eating more healthy.

4. Exercise.
This is crucial to losing weight as well. You can eat healthy all you want, but if you don’t exercise and stay fit, your body isn’t going to go anywhere. Exercise makes you feel better, gives you more energy, and helps keep those extra calories off. Some tips:

Exercise with a friend. It always helps to have a friend there to motivate you and keep you going!

Exercise at home. Don’t have time to exercise with a friend? There is plenty you can do at home! if you don’t have a treadmill, you can download some apps to your phone that will help you track your progress and show you how many calories you can burn. Here is two I suggest: Two Fitness Apps You Simply Must Have. Don’t have a smart phone? Search online. There are so many different exercise routines you can start at home and Pinterest has a TON that you can do at home. Here are a bunch I have saved: Health & Exercise.

Exercise outdoors. Take a walk, go for run. Sometimes it’s easier to motivated when you have a change of scenery. Have a baby? Take them for walk! Walk with your husband. Walk the dog. These are all forms of exercise! Do something, just get your body moving!

Take a class. Find a local gym, or take a class on your base. The best thing I ever did was going to a free yoga class at the gym on my base. I LOVE yoga! Can’t find the time or too expensive? Search Netflix for yoga or pilates videos. They have plenty of “classes” you can take at home in 10-15 minute segments. Perfect for workouts on the go or if you want to work out alone.

By the time my husband got home from deployment I had lost 12 more pounds and was only 5 pounds away from my goal. I felt good about myself and was so proud that I had done it. I never thought I would fit into some of my old clothes again and even had gotten rid a lot of them. It’s amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it!

What about YOU? Have you lost weight? what did you do to motivate yourself?

Well, with not a lot of time today to read-this is the post I went for. I’m struggling-gained 25 lbs. after pregnancy being a stay at home mom. Noone would look at me and say I’m hugely overweight, just say it’s still baby weight…but I feel it. Today is a big step for me–going back to my passion–I was a country line dancer before my son was born, and am going tonight…I also got a zumba fitness dvd to try at home. My problem…can I keep it up.
Lately been feeling too full….and doing some of those same meals (bland, etc…) and took myself off coffee…I had pancreatitis unexplained in last mo. of pregnancy….
I think I need to take your advice w/3 meals-not 5…like being with my toddler….it seems all I can handle.
🙂 This was a wonderful post I’ll share w/some friends-thank you!

I haven’t dieted or anything myself but my dad lost over 300 pounds, mainly by portion control! (he chose not to eliminate things from his diet because he couldn’t do it self-control wise) but he still lost bunch of weight just eating less!

Your way sounds way better because not only are you losing weight but eating healthier too! 🙂

I’m naturally tiny (I lose weight when I’m not wanting to 🙁 ) but after the baby is born I’m going to try to eat healthier and work out more, even though I don’t need it to look better, I need it to feel better and be healthier! 🙂

thanks for sharing your tips! will definately come back to this when I’m getting started after baby comes! 🙂

I totally agree with your tips and commend you for your commitment. During my husbands recent deployment I lost 17 lbs and still counting! I to was amazed at the portion sizes!! It was also amazing to me how i was satisfied with just a half sandwich and no chips. I hired a personal trainer whom i work with for an hour a week. I also like the classes like zumba or kick boxing- they are alot of fun!! Keep up the great work!!

Hey would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re working with? I’m
looking to start my own blog soon but I’m having a hard time making a decision between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique.
P.S Sorry for getting off-topic but I had to ask!

I hate to say exactly what they all said already but seriously this is so true. I did this I’ve lost thirty pounds but I don’t really have a goal I just don’t wanna feel big I wanna feel like I’m not huge. I’ve gotten addicted to getting smaller I love the gym and eating healthy every once in a while I cheat but it’s seldom because I do so well 95% of the time. I wouldn’t consider what I’m doing dieting because I like eating healthy because it the best choice for me. I’ll live longer and be healthy. I have random craving when I’m stressed or PMsing but I do what the craving asks and then I workout hard the next week. I found that if I fight the craving it only makes you want it more but that motivation will keep you away from that constant unhealthy eating and you will stay focused because it’s what you want for yourself. I love my new life and I have no intentions of going back. The best advice I can give to people is none. I can only offer a quote. “when you get tired, you’ll do something about it”.